Sun Zhuangyuan's face flushed and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
He picked up a document.
It was a thin booklet, only about twenty or thirty pages thick, but it was as heavy as a thousand-pound hammer.
Just picking it up took all his strength.
He knew very well in his heart that the Queen could not lie to him about such a matter, and there was no need for her to lie to him.
I just can't accept it in my heart and still hold on to a glimmer of hope.
Maybe it's not as serious as the Queen said.
Maybe this is all a misunderstanding.
He flipped open the document, and the content was so detailed that a chill rose from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Time, place, people involved, what happened...
No matter how big or small the matter is, including witness statements, signatures and seals, everything is included.
There is also a list of physical evidence. The physical evidence involved in the case has been sealed.
This is a complete case file.
Once we get it to the government office, we can use this file to make a judgment on the case.
Bang!
Sun Zhuangyuan closed the file.
His pupils dilated and the muscles on his face twitched uncontrollably.
"I dare to ask, when did Your Majesty start targeting the Sun family?"
Such detailed case files cannot be completed overnight.
It must have been the result of years of covert investigation to have this huge collection of case files.
Gu Jiu poured the tea himself, "Mr. Sun, have some tea!"
Sun Zhuangyuan asked again anxiously: "Please tell me the truth, Madam."
At this time, he had no mood to drink tea, he was almost dying of anxiety.
Gu Jiu picked up the teacup and blew on it twice.
This year's autumn tea is different from spring tea and has a unique flavor.
She took two sips, holding the cup lid and gently stirring the surface of the tea.
"Even before Crown Prince Renxuan was assassinated, I began to keep an eye on your Sun family. The eldest son of the Sun family is the patriarch, and he knows how to protect himself. He promptly stopped supporting the Crown Princess and drew a clear line. When Emperor Wuzong Kaiyao passed away, the Sun family was not implicated, but the Crown Princess did."
Sun Zhuangyuan said nothing and looked relatively calm.
But the rolling Adam's apple revealed that his heart was not as calm as he looked.
He is nervous!
Gu Jiu continued, "The Crown Princess died in the Zongzheng Temple. There's so much to say about this matter, and the details are so shocking, it's better not to go into them. During the reign of Emperor Chengzong Wende, the Sun family lay dormant, keeping a low profile. Their influence in the court declined slightly, but their position in the literary world remained as strong as ever. Shanhe Academy and the Imperial College engaged in numerous open and covert battles. A thorough investigation of this matter will reveal that these events are inextricably linked to the Sun family."
Sun Zhuangyuan hurriedly said, "The Sun family has never provoked a conflict between Shanhe Academy and the Imperial College."
"I'm not saying your Sun family is instigating the conflict. It's just that as a literary giant and the head of the Dingzhou School, your academic thought is having a broad and profound impact on students across the country. Academic thought, too, requires money to sustain. The Sun family is so wealthy and powerful, supporting so many people, and maintaining your position in the literary world and promoting your academic thought. Where does the money come from?"
Sun Zhuangyuan said: "The Sun family has ancestral property, shops, and businesses..."
Gu Jiu sneered, "Talking about ancestral property and income in front of me is undoubtedly a case of showing off one's skills before an expert. It is easier to investigate the properties under your Sun family's name than to investigate the evidence of the Sun family's crimes.
After five years of tracking your Sun family's assets, I've discovered that the income I've earned simply can't support such massive expenses. Huge deficits are incurred every year, ultimately filled by the Dingzhou Sun family. Where does Dingzhou's money come from? From exploiting the people of Dingzhou."
"I dare not admit such a serious crime, and neither does the Sun family."
Sun Zhuangyuan suppressed his fear and expressed his attitude.
Gu Jiu flipped the basket over directly, "Do you think that you can deny what happened just by saying you don't admit it?"
Sun Zhuangyuan stared at the documents scattered on the floor, his fingers trembling.
Gu Jiu casually picked up a document and said, "In the first year of the Jingming era, the Wang family of Wangjia Village transferred 20 hectares of prime farmland to the government office and registered it as property of the Sun family. For no apparent reason, how did the name of these 20 hectares of land change from Wang to Sun?"
Sun Zhuangyuan stared at the information in her hand, his beard trembling twice, and he didn't dare to speak.
The truth must be shocking and chilling.
Gu Jiu smiled coldly, "It's because the Wang family was forced to break up their family. The most promising son was robbed on the way to the imperial examination and his leg was broken, which cut off his path to the imperial examination. The Wang family caravan was also robbed on the way. Five of the men died on the spot, and three members of the Wang family were injured. One of them had his tendons cut, and he will never be able to lift heavy objects or do heavy work for the rest of his life.
Ten days before the autumn harvest, a fire destroyed the Wang family's crops, all of which were about to be harvested. The government investigated, claiming it was a child's accidental lighting of a candle, and the matter was dropped. The Wang family had worked hard for a year, but had no harvest. The Sun family seized the opportunity to block the grain route to Dingzhou, monopolizing all grain and forbidding any grain merchants to sell a single grain to the Wang family.
The Wang family struggled for eight months, but with nowhere else to go, they were forced to sell the 20 hectares of prime farmland, accumulated over generations, to the Sun family at a price below market value in exchange for the safety of their family.
Bang!
Gu Jiu threw the information on the table, anger rising in his heart.
"With these twenty hectares of fertile land, the Sun family's fields have become one. All the nearby villagers and farmers have become tenants or slaves of the Sun family in just one year. Your Sun family is so powerful!"
Sun Zhuangyuan prostrated himself on the ground, trembling all over.
"Please forgive me, Madam!"
"Why should I forgive your Sun family? After five years of investigation, the evidence of the Sun family's crimes is overflowing from this teahouse. May I ask, is this evil?"
Sun Zhuangyuan nodded heavily, "It is indeed evil!"
Gu Jiu said angrily, "If it were just the evil of one family, I would have tolerated it. However, the Sun family has set a very bad example for the world, making people think that as long as people of the same surname and clan stick together, they can become powerful and do whatever they want! The Great Zhou Dynasty is still alive and well. When will it be the turn of local clans to do whatever they want? The evil of your Sun family is the greatest evil in the world."
Sun Zhuangyuan burst into tears, "The Sun family deserves death!"
The knife is already at their neck, and the Sun family seems to be at the end of the road.
"Mr. Sun, please sit up! I know that you are not aware of these things, and your Third House is not involved."
Gu Jiu's attitude suddenly changed and became friendly.
Sun Zhuangyuan was completely confused and didn't understand what was going on.
Gu Jiu refilled his teacup with water and said, "Having said so much, I want to ask, should the Sun family split into a clan or a branch?"
Sun Zhuangyuan was stunned, and his hand holding the teacup was shaking.
"Your Majesty, do not punish the Sun family for their crimes?"
"Punishing is simple, but it only addresses the symptoms and not the root cause. It is also likely to cause criticism from the scholars and officials. What I want is to cut off the source of evil at its root. Mr. Sun, do you understand?"
Gu Jiu seemed to be smiling, and Sun Zhuangyuan was under great pressure.
The Sun family is too famous and has too high a status in the literary world.
Don't move easily.
Even if the court laid the evidence before the world and took action against the Sun family, it would not only fail to achieve its goal, but might even end up shooting itself in the foot.
Confucianism emphasizes protecting one's relatives, and this is not just talk.
Which official family has not occupied fertile land and forced good people to work as servants?
Even the Gu family has done this kind of thing.
To attack the Sun family is to overturn the structure of the literati.
The literary world, including officials, will all jump up in opposition.
After weighing the pros and cons, the best solution is to let the Sun family take action themselves.
Fortresses are always breached from within.
The third branch of the Sun family is the sharp knife that Gu Jiu uses to tear apart the Sun family.
Originally, this opportunity should have been started the year after next, or even the year after that, when the time was ripe.
However, Liu Yu fell in love with Sun Qinniang from the third branch of the Sun family. Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao decided to take the opportunity to make plans in advance.
The blunt knife cut the Sun family bit by bit, and gradually disintegrated.
From a big family, it disbanded into countless small families.
When tens of thousands of people are no longer led by a patriarch, conflicts of interest are bound to arise.
The conflicts that were suppressed in the past due to clan rules are bound to take the opportunity to erupt.
Once the conflict breaks out, the Sun family will be on the verge of falling apart.
Only by dismembering the big families can the local people find a way to survive in the chaos.
All of this requires a leader who can take up arms and tear open a gap to bring out the suppressed contradictions.
Sun Zhuangyuan is the medicine that Gu Jiu has chosen.
It’s not a big part, but it’s a crucial part.
Sun Zhuangyuan drank water in big gulps and sweat never stopped.
It's unfair that he has to endure such hardship at such an old age.
He smiled bitterly and asked, "What does your Majesty want me to do?"
Gu Jiu said softly, "I hope that your Third House can take the initiative to propose a separation from the First House, draw a clear line between you and the First House, and perform your own sacrifices from now on."
Sun Zhuangyuan's face turned pale. The consequences of dividing the clan were too serious, and he could fully understand it.
He had a mournful look on his face. "If I follow the Queen's orders, I will become a sinner of the Sun family, condemned by thousands of people, and bear eternal infamy."
Gu Jiu laughed and threw the information on the table. "Sir, not only are you not the sinner of the Sun family, but you are their savior. Otherwise, the evidence that would fill a room would be enough to bring ruin to the Sun family."
"Why? Your Majesty can punish the Sun family directly. We, the Sun clan, have deserved the punishment. Why force me to split up the clan and become a sinner?"
"Not everyone in the Sun family deserves to die. The Sun family is a leader in the literary world. Considering your contributions, I am willing to give you a chance."
"The Sun family's crimes are proven, are you still willing to marry my granddaughter?"
"It all depends on Mr. Sun's choice. Either the clan is divided, or the entire Sun family is uprooted."
Sun Zhuangyuan smiled bitterly repeatedly, his brows filled with sorrow, never relaxing.
Gu Jiu reminded him, "Your Sun family is too greedy, delusionally dreaming of always being the number one family in the world. If you want to destroy them, you must first make them crazy. The Sun family has become so crazy that they have no bottom line and no fear. Mr. Sun, it's time to pour a basin of cold water on your clansmen and let them regain their fear. Otherwise, after many years, how many of the tens of thousands of Sun family members will be lucky enough to be alive?"
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
I wish all the adults and children a happy Dragon Boat Festival.
I wish all the children taking the college entrance examination good luck and hope they can be admitted to their favorite universities.
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